Automobile signal device



A. C. DARLING.

AUTOMOBILE SIGNAL DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED 05c. 22, 1919.

1,363,573, Patented Dec. 28,1920...

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AUTOMOBILE SIGNAL DEVICE.

resents.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 28, 192d.

Application filed December 22, 1919. Serial No. 346,698.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR C. DARLING, of Petrolea, in the county ofLambton, Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Auto mobile Signal Devices, of'which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to devices by means of which the driver of avehicle may signal his intention to turn either to the right or left orto stop, and thus warn the driver of a following vehicle or instructatraffic policeman ahead, and my object is to devise a signal which willbe very simple and yet effective, and which, when not in use to givewarning, will be very inconspicuous and therefore no detriment to theappearance of the car.

I attain my object by means of the com structions hereinafter describedand 1llu strated in the accompanying drawings in which-- Figure l is aperspective view of part of a motor car provided with my improved signaldevice;

Fig. 2 a side elevation, partlybroken away and partly in section, of thesignal device;

Fig. 3 a longitudinal section of the same; and

Fig. 4. a side elevation, partly broken away, of part of the inside ofthe door of the vehicle provided with my lmprovements.

In the drawings like numerals of reference indicate corresponding partsin the differcnt figures.

l is part of the side of a vehicle, preferably a door. On the outersurface of the door is hinged, preferably by its forward edge, a signalboard 2. The outer surface of the door is preferably recessed so thatwhen the signal board is folded fiat, the outer surface of the door willbe substantially flush. This recess will preferably be of sufficientdepth to accommodate any parts of the operating mechanism of the signalboard which require to be located outside the door.

The signal board is operable from a rock shaft 3 journaled on the doorand extending through into the hollow space usually found between theouter and inner surfaces of a motor car door. On this rock shaft issecured the crank arm 4, to which is loosely connected one end of aconnecting rod 5,

the other end of which is loosely connected -with the signal boardintermediate its front and rear edges.

6 is a coil spring coiled on the rod 7 of the hinge of the signal board,engaging the signal board and the door surface and tending to fold thesignal board against the outer side of the door.

Any suitable means may be provided for rocking the rock arm 3 fromwithin the car to throw the signal board to its extended positionsubstantially at right angles to the side of the car. I show for thispurpose a rock arm 8 secured to the inner end of the rock shaft 3 andprovided with a laterally extending operating handle 9 movable in anarc-shaped slot 10.

To hold the signal board extended I provide a spring catch 11 with whichthe handlc is adapted to engage as shown particularly in Fig. 2. Torelease the catch when the signal board is to be restored to its normalposition, I provide a sleeve 12 journaled on the handle 9 and providedwith an arm 13 adapted to engage the spring, and with an arm 14 at itsouter end which may be pressed to move back the spring catch 11 and thusrelease the rock arm 8 and permit the spring 6 to fold the signal board.

It will be noted that the catch 11 is so designed that though it willhold the signal board extended against the tension of'the spring 6, yeta heavy pull on the handle will disengage it from the catch; so that, asthe signal board is hinged at its forward end, contact of the board withany obstruction it meets will fold back the board without injuring theboard or the operating parts.

It will be understood, of course that a device of the kind described maybe provided at each side of the car, and that these devices may beoperated to throw out the signal boards to indicate an intention to turnto one side or the other or to stop. It will be observed that the deviceis readily set by a single movement of the hand in a very brief space oftime and that but an instant of time is required to trip the device andallow it to assume its normal inoperative position.

What I claim as my invention is '1. The combination with a vehicle of asignal board hinged at its forward edge to lie fiat against the side ofthe vehicle; and means operable from within the vehicle for extenaihgSad agn'al aim Mar a folding it against the side of the vehicle.

side of the vehicle, a crank arm'securred' to said shaft, and aconnecting rod loosely connected to said crank arm and the signal,

board. 7

2. The combination ivith the device set forth in claim 1 of means foroperating the rock shaft from within the Vehicle comprising a rockarmsecured to the-rock shaft, a laterally extending operating handlethereon, and a spring catch engageableby the rock arm to retain thesignal board extended. 3. .The combination With a car door having arecess formed in its outer surface of a slgnalboard hinged at the frontof'th'e surface; a spring tending to fold the said board back overtherecess; a rock shaft journaled in the door; a crank arm secured to itsouter e1'1d-;and a. connecting rod loosely connected to the crank armand the board, the arm and connecting rod being both contained in saidrecess when the board is-folded ARTHUR CORSON DARLING.

